ABSTRACT
To a great extent within classrooms, the language used by teachers and students determines what is learned and how learning takes place. The classroom is a unique context for learning and exerts a profound effect on students' development of language and literacy skills, particularly in the early years. Some have argued strongly that students should have significant opportunities for the integration of oral and written language in the classroom, because these experiences both support and encourage the development of literate cognition (Corson, 1984; Wells, 1990).
